


Try to Remember

by Nerd_Herder_Forever



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Not Beta Read, Original Character(s), Rating May Change, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:07:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29678877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerd_Herder_Forever/pseuds/Nerd_Herder_Forever
Summary: Tony's sister, Maggie, is born premature. When Howard and Maria are told she will die in the near future, they turn to the Super Soldier Serum in order to save her at all costs. When they are killed a couple years later, Maggie is placed in the Jarvis's care. To protect her, Tony and others involved conceal her parentage and she remains at the Stark mansion under the guise of a cousin.As the years go by, the relationships she forms with the Avengers and others in SHIELD threaten to expose her identity, as well as other secrets known not even to her.
Kudos: 1





	Try to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> *Mainly the only differences in the timeline are due to multiple characters living longer than they do in the movies*
> 
> This is the first thing I am posting so it will be far, far, FAR from good. I am determined to finish it in some capacity, but a lot of this will most likely be edited down the road. The story will have flashbacks quite a bit. Also this is listed as M/F, but may also include Multi as the story progresses. Additional Tags will be added if necessary and the chapter count will probably be extended once chapter 15 is reached. Any constructive criticism or feedback you may have, I would love to hear. If I don't post this now, I probably never will, so here goes. Thank you :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She stands at the fringes of the party, scanning the mingling guests. Tony, Steve, and Natasha stand together at the sleek bar across the room. Tony spots her first from across the room and gives a nod in greeting. Steve and Natasha follow his eye-line to the woman across the room trying to find the best way through the room.

Steve throws a questioning glance to Nat as if to ask who she is, but Nat has already turned her attention back to her drink. Her red nail polish matches the red pimento in the olive of her martini glass as she spins the toothpick around idly.

“Sorry, I need to steal him for a sec guys.” Pepper says as she leans in toward Tony.

“By all means, steal away.” Natasha smirks. Tony throws an accusatory glance at Nat, but before he departs, he turns and gestures to the bartender for a few seconds. Tony and Pepper walk away arm in arm. Meanwhile, the woman is trying to keep to the shadows as she makes her way to the abandoned balcony.

Normally, more people would take advantage of the beautiful view and fresh air it provides, but the bite in the air makes it less desirable this time of year. She; however, craves the cold and its accompanying solitude. A waiter traverses the labyrinth of guests and friends milling about the room and meets her just as she is about to exit the room through the floor-to-ceiling glass paneled french doors.

He politely hands her the drink saying, “Courtesy of Tony Stark.” She accepts the drink with a warm smile and a ‘thank you’.

His eyes track her curiously. If he didn’t know better, it would appear that Tony was cheating. But he loves Pepper and he did it right in front of her. Stealth may not be his strong suit on missions, but he certainly wasn’t stupid. And pulling a stunt like that, anyone could see that the woman across the room wasn’t just any woman. Steve turns to Natasha, “Who is that?”

“Tony’s never introduced us but she’s...I guess she’s some relation.” She answers with a sigh.

Steve eyes her with speculation and she shrugs in response, her attention is now occupied on Bruce approaching the bar. Steve gives Nat a knowing smirk before grabbing his beer and bracing himself for the crowd before him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breathing is so much easier here. A room filled with people never made her particularly happy; even less so as time goes by it seems. She can’t help but feel threatened and claustrophobic whenever there’s an occasion like this one.

But here, leaning against the balcony’s edge, looking down upon the city she loves: the lights, traffic, sirens, and pedestrians below, she is at peace.

A couple lemon slices float in the dark blue balloon glass. A tentative sip of her drink confirms it's a gin and tonic. Tony may not be close with her, but this kind of thing confirms he does care for her. Growing up, jealousy over what an ideal sibling relationship would look like was difficult to escape. It’s still difficult to escape, but Tony needed space back then and  
Now, well he’s busy now and…  
He’s not too busy for his friends…  
He works with them, of course they’re close…  
but he’s too busy for you.

Absentmindedly, her fingers fidget with her necklace. A small blue and white bird pendant hangs on the platinum chain. She shakes her head at her train of thought, another sip of gin reminds her to be thankful, not bitter.

Cacophonous laughs slip into the muted silence of the open air. The door behind her slinks shut and she tenses slightly. Shoulders stiffen, cursing how her empty space is no longer. A person comes to stand beside her. Five feet away, not too close, but close enough to utilize her peripheral vision to distinguish their identity. They’re tall- a man most likely-

“Beautiful night.”

She nods wondering if that warrants a verbal response. She opts to keep her gaze fixed on the view even though she knows this probably makes her seem rude. Better rude than miserably bored and engaged in a conversion she could care less about. Or worse, stuck outside with some dude and no one else to give her an opportunity to return indoors once more. He stays silent - somehow this might be worse.

“How do you know Tony and Pepper?”

“I’m a cousin. You?” Answering without looking at him, playing aloof and completely disinterested may be the best option. Still, she can’t help but be curious. Something about his voice seems vaguely familiar.

“Pepper’s cousin?”

“Tony’s.”

“I’m Steve.”

Now she turns. Beside her is Captain America. The picture of casual. His hands rest in his pockets and his whole stance is completely at ease. She gulps down a breath and freezes.

Why is Captain America talking to her right now? It’s humorous enough that Tony converses with him at all considering the way Dad was said to boast about him. He catches her eye and she quickly turns away and back to the city. At least, now she isn’t nervous about him being a jerk.

He started the conversation, not you. Just because you verified your suspicions doesn’t mean you should feel weird or embarrassed. That, while correct, doesn’t quell the embarrassment.

“And you are…?”

She all but jerks at his voice. It’s sudden, yet somehow softer than the sound of her own thoughts.

“Meg.” She brings herself to answer.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

He probably feels like he’s pulling teeth with how non-responsive she’s being, but she can’t bear to say anything more than what’s absolutely necessary.

So, “you too,” stumbles from her mouth. Her hair floats as a breeze drifts by and the tip of her nose is red.

“Aren’t you cold?” He asks.

“A little, the gin helps.”

“Ah.”

“Are you?”

“Oh, no, super soldier serum keeps me warm I guess.”

“Ah.”

He shrugs off his blazer and extends his arm. She shakes her head to decline his offer, but, “You have goosebumps.”

She nods in defeat, more to herself than him, but she takes the navy blazer hesitantly and slips it on. It’s about six sizes too big, dwarfing her as the hem brushes her knees.

“Thanks,” she murmurs. It’s still warm and she has to resist the urge to nuzzle into it like a cat. Apparently the whole chivalrous gentleman thing is true.

With her wariness assuaged for a moment, “Coulson would want me to say hello.” She mutters more to herself than him.

“You know Coulson?”

“I know a lot of SHIELD agents.” At his surprise and barely suppressed interest, she regrets not reigning in the information she decided to reveal, but perhaps earning his trust could be useful to her.  
Why does everything have to be justified by usefulness?  
Can’t she just have a normal conversation without playing a strategic game, weighing advantages and disadvantages, in her head?

“Coulson’s a good man.”

“The best.” She nods with a wistful smile. If Tony’s trust in him didn’t make her feel more comfortable around him, then this definitely did. Coulson had been a teacher and friend over the years. They didn’t run many ops together, but her negotiations were sometimes called for if they needed to bring an asset on board or talk somebody down.

“Forgive me, but I have to ask. You don’t seem to be enjoying yourself.”

“That wasn’t a question.”

“You are a Stark” he chuckles, “Why spend time somewhere you don’t want to be?”

She stays quiet for a while. Just as Steve thinks he offended her and she’s refusing to respond, “You’re right. I don’t really love crowds, but I am expected to be here. I don’t like letting him down. Tony gets...well he pesters when he doesn’t get what he wants.”

Steve chuckles in agreement, “Why does your attendance matter so much to him?”

She shrugs nonchalantly, “You’d have to ask him that, but he probably just wants to make my parents happy.”

“Your parents?”

She shifts minutely. “They died a long time ago but I guess he feels like he owes them or something.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be. I barely knew them. I was still a toddler at the time.” This part wasn’t a lie, but the next part... When they crafted this particular lie, they did such a good job of weaving the truth into the fiction that they finally molded into one over the years. That kept the guilt at bay- She didn’t come up with it. It was a lie she was told for years. A lie that kept everybody that much safer.

“I didn’t know Howard had siblings.”

“He didn’t. Maria did. My father was her brother, Gregory. You knew Howard?”

She did a lot of research on Howard, yet she wasn’t sure how well Steve knew him. Dr. Erskine and Howard were largely responsible for Steve’s transformation and it was clear that Steve had a great impact on Howard. Yet the two of them speaking as he would with Tony, somehow seemed far-fetched to her.

“Yes. We were friends during the war.”

“What was he like?”

“Howard? He was a lot like Tony actually. Well that was before he met Maria so he was more of a ladies man.”

“Tony was like that before Pepper.” She scrunches her nose and Steve laughs.

“Man, he was smart as a whip too. I couldn’t understand most of the science mumbo jumbo, but he was pretty down to earth when we spoke and he helped me a lot.”

She smiles to herself thinking about how Howard would have been. Both her and Steve are lost in thought for a moment. She looks over at him and his wistful expression turns solemn.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up old memories. That was insensitive of me.”

“No, not at all. It’s nice to remember the good times.”

They share a good natured smile and she returns her eyes to the city.

“Excuse me, Miss Collins.” Jarvis’s voice echos into the air of the balcony around them. Steve jumps a little, still not used to the disembodied voice.

“Yes, Jarvis?”

“It has been half an hour since you arrived. Would you like me to call you a cab or tell Happy you wish to leave?”

“Oh, uh thanks Jarvis.” She glances at her watch. “Yeah I should probably get going. I don’t want to bother Happy. A cab would be lovely.”

“Yes miss.”

She takes another sip of her gin and tonic. “Please don’t tell Tony that Jarvis sets a timer for me.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks, I should probably say goodbye, but I hate interrupting him.” They look back into the lustrous space and view Tony and Rhodey animatedly telling a story to Thor and Maria Hill.

“It’s alright. I’ll give him your farewells if you want.”

“Your cab has arrived, Miss Collins.”

She looks up as if Jarvis is in the air above her. “Thanks Jarvis. And thank you too. For the conversation and the jacket.” She slips off the garment and hands it over to the owner.

“You’re most welcome.”

“It was nice meeting you Captain.” She extends her hand out to him.

“Steve. And it was nice talking to you too Megan.” He grasps it and starts to shake.

“Oh, it’s Margaret, but I go by Meg.” He freezes for a moment and releases her hand.

“Have a nice night.” He manages to get out.

She smiles, slips back into the party, and makes her way downstairs.

Steve remains on the balcony. Margaret- It’s old fashioned, but I’m sure lots of parents still name their kids Margaret.

Margaret is a name that can have many shortenings or nicknames. Marge, Madge, Maggie, Greta, but the one Captain Rogers is most familiar with; however, is Peggy.


End file.
